Internet telephone voice mail management

ABSTRACT

A method, system, and program provide for voice mail management. A voice mail filtering controller calculates a separate Bayesian score for each voice mail message from among multiple voice mail message entries received into a voice mailbox for a user, wherein each separate Bayesian score indicates a probability that the associated voice mail message is unwanted by said user. During playback, the voice mail filtering controller automatically deletes a selection of the voice mail messages each with a separate Bayesian score greater than a particular Bayesian score of the last played voice mail message from the voice mailbox.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates in general to improved management of voicemail and in particular to automatically prioritizing voice mail messagesand removing unwanted or unsolicited voice mail messages.

2. Description of the Related Art

The Internet has opened a variety of new ways for people to communicatewith one another. For example, email services and instant messagingservices facilitate communication by allowing users to send messages toone another; with email, messages are sent from mailbox to mailbox andwith instant messaging, messages are sent in real-time from one userinterface to another.

One limitation of communications facilitated via the Internet is thelack of regulation that leaves users open to receiving an influx ofunwanted communications. Many users have experienced opening an emailmailbox only to find a mailbox loaded with unsolicited and unwantedemails. This unsolicited and unwanted email is colloquially referred toas spam. In response to increasing amounts of spam, email serviceproviders and third party developers continue to develop spam filteringtools that attempt to remove spam from email mailboxes, while leavingwanted emails.

Another type of communication facilitated by the Internet is Voice overInternet Protocol (IP), also referred to as VoIP, IPTelephony, Internettelephony or digital phone. VoIP refers to the routing of voiceconversations over the Internet or other IP based networks. With VoIP,voice data flows over a general-purpose packet-switched network, insteadof traditional dedicated, circuit-switched voice transmission lines.Protocols used to carry voice signals over the IP network are commonlyreferred to as VoIP protocols. Thus, VOIP enables a computer systemcommunicatively connected to the Internet to function as a telephonydevice. As facilitated by a VoIP service provider or VoIP applicationsoftware, through a computer system, a user can place a call to atelephone number or receive a call placed to a telephone number at thecomputer system.

In addition to providing VoIP voice service, VoIP service providers mayalso provide many of the same types of services that are now oftenincluded with or offered with standard wired and wireless telephoneservice. For example, just as normal telephony service providers providevoice mail systems, which facilitate a caller leaving a message for anintended recipient who is not available to receive the call and storethe messages as voice mail messages in a voice mailbox, VoIP serviceproviders may provide voice mail systems for storing voice mail messagesleft for a user.

While VoIP has many advantages, there are also disadvantages to VoIP. Inparticular one disadvantage of VoIP is that like email, VoIP provides amedium through which a telemarketer or other person can send multiplesimultaneous messages, often untraced. Through a VoIP connection, asingle caller can send out thousands of voice messages simultaneouslyinto phones or voice mailboxes at little cost. Thus, the emergence ofVoIP mailboxes provides a new target location for unwanted andunsolicited messages, in the form of VoIP voice mail messages. Theseunwanted and unsolicited VoIP voice mail messages are often colloquiallyreferred to as spam over Internet Telephony (SPIT). Unlike spam that auser can view as entries and delete without reading, to identify anddelete unwanted voice mail, however, with VoIP voice mail messages auser must first listen to the voice mail, identify the voice mail asunwanted, and then delete the voice mail. Further, unlike spam that mayonly use minimal storage space, VoIP voice mail messages typicallyrequire more storage space and thus each undesirable voice mail messageusing storage space is more burdensome. Therefore, in view of theforegoing, there is a need for a method, system, and program formanaging VoIP voice mailboxes to filter out and automatically deleteunwanted voice mail messages or facilitate user selection to quicklydelete unwanted voice mail messages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the present invention provides a method, system, and programfor improved management of voice mail by automatically prioritizing andremoving unwanted voice mail messages.

In one embodiment, a voice mail filtering controller calculates aseparate Bayesian score for each voice mail message from among multiplevoice mail message entries received into a voice mailbox for a user,wherein each separate Bayesian score indicates a probability that theassociated voice mail message is unwanted by the user. The voice mailfiltering controller automatically deletes a selection of the voice mailmessages each with a separate Bayesian score greater than a particularBayesian score of the last played voice mail message from the voicemailbox. Voice mailbox may include at least some of the multiple voicemail message entries received from a telephone call supported by VoIP.

In particular, prior to playback of the voice mail message entries, thevoice mail filtering controller calculates a separate Bayesian score foreach voice mail message by detecting the words within each voice mailmessage that match words within a corpus, where each word within thecorpus includes a probability of occurring within a voice mail and aprobability of occurring within a voice mail either that is wanted orunwanted. Once the Bayesian scores are calculated, the voice mailfiltering controller may automatically delete any voice mail messageswith a Bayesian score greater than a particular threshold. In addition,once the Bayesian scores are calculated, voice mail filtering controllersorts the voice mail messages in order from lowest Bayesian score tohighest Bayesian score and plays the voice mail message entries in thesorted order. While the voice mail messages are playing back, the userhas the option to select to delete all voice mail messages with aBayesian score greater than the Bayesian score of the last playedmessage.

The voice mail filtering controller adds words to the corpus frommultiple sources. First, the voice mail filtering controller may addwords to the corpus from the words detected within at least one voicemail message saved by the user during playback or within at least onevoice mail message deleted by the user during playback and marked asunwanted voice mail. Second, the voice mail filtering controller may addwords to the corpus from the words detected during at least oneconversation between the user ant at least one other participant.

In addition, the voice mail filtering controller may filter voice mailmessages according to the identity of the sender. The voice mailfiltering controller detects whether a separate voice characteristic foreach voice mail message matches at least one voice imprint from amongmultiple voice imprints, wherein each of the voice imprints is marked aseither permitted or excluded. The voice mail filtering controllerautomatically deletes those voice mail messages with voicecharacteristics that match one of the voice imprints marked as excluded.

The voice mail filtering controller may build the voice imprints frommultiple sources. Voice mail filtering controller may sample a portionof a conversation between the user and at least one other callparticipant and add the sampling to the voice imprints marked aspermitted. Voice mail filtering controller may sample a portion of avoice mailbox greeting and add the sampling to the voice imprints markedas permitted. Voice mail filtering controller, responsive to detecting aselection by the user to delete a particular voice mail message becausethe message is unwanted, adds a sampling of the voice mail message tothe voice imprints marked as excluded.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The novel features believed characteristic of the invention are setforth in the appended claims. The invention itself however, as well as apreferred mode of use, further objects and advantages thereof, will bestbe understood by reference to the following detailed description of anillustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a distributedcommunication network for supporting voice communications with VoIPvoice mail systems for storing VoIP voice mail messages;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting one embodiment of a computing systemthrough which the telephony device, computer system, server, or networksystems of the present method, system and program product may beimplemented;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a voice mail system for filteringout unwanted voice mail;

FIG. 4 is an illustrative diagram depicting one example of filtering outunwanted voice mail messages before and during playback;

FIG. 5 is an illustrative diagram illustrating one example of the typesof data stored for use by a voice mail system shared within anenterprise;

FIG. 6 is a high level logic flowchart depicting a process and programfor controlling updates to a white listing;

FIG. 7 is a high level logic flowchart illustrating a high level processand program for controlling filtering of voice mail messages; and

FIG. 8 is a high level logic flowchart depicts a process and programfiltered playback of voice mail messages.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference now to FIG. 1, a block diagram illustrates one embodimentof a distributed communication network for supporting voicecommunications with VoIP voice mail systems for storing VoIP voice mailmessages. It will be understood that FIG. 1 is representative of oneexample of a distributed, communication network for supporting voicecommunications, however other network configurations and networkcomponents may be implemented for supporting voice communications andthe voice mail system of the present invention.

In general, FIG. 1, illustrates distributed communication network 100 inwhich voice communications are supported through at least one circuitswitching telephony network 114, such as the Public Switching TelephoneNetwork (PSTN), alone or in combination with at least one packetswitching network 116, such as the Internet. Circuit switching telephonynetwork 114 may include a single or multiple circuit switching networksand infrastructure including, but is not limited to, the PSTN, privatetelephone systems, and wireless service networks. Packet switchingnetwork 116 may include, but is not limited to, the Internet, privatewide area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), and packetswitching network service provider infrastructure. It will be understoodthat in addition to supporting voice communications, telephony network114 and packet switching network 116 may also support data, video, andother media of communications.

Voice communications supported through packet switching network 116 aregenerally referred to as Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) calls. Itwill be understood that in addition to or as an alternative to VoIP,other types of telephony may be implemented through packet switchingnetwork 116.

VoIP calls are implemented using a selection of protocols, where theselection depends upon the path of the call and where the protocolsinclude, but are not limited to, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) andMedia Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP). Where a VoIP call is placed to orreceived from a telephony device 112, connected to telephony network114, a gateway (not depicted) supporting communications between packetswitching network 116 and telephony network 114 may implement additionalprotocols to support the VoIP call.

Different types of systems with different communicative connections topacket switching network 116 may be used in a VoIP call. In general,each system, whether a stand-alone telephony unit or combination ofnetwork systems, enables voice communication using VoIP protocols.

In one example, a computer system 102 communicatively connected topacket switching network 116 acts as a VoIP telephony device throughwhich a user may place and receive VoIP calls. For example, computersystem 102 may run a VoIP application that supports VoIP calls tocomputer system 102. Microphones, speakers, and other input and outputinterface connected to computer system 102 enable a user to interactduring the VoIP call. In another example, a user may log on to a VoIPservice provider, such as by logging on through a web page browser toconnect with VoIP server 110. VoIP server 110 then facilitates the VoIPcall between computer system 102 and at least one other telephonysystem. Further, a VoIP application running locally at computer system102 may function in combination with a service provided by VoIP server110 to facilitate a VoIP call.

In another example, a VoIP adapter 104, communicatively connected topacket switching network 116, converts the analog signal used bytelephony device 108 into digital data for transmission over packetswitching network 116 in a VoIP call. VoIP adapter 104, alone or incombination with a computer system may include the VoIP application orfirmware for facilitating a VoIP call with telephony device 108.

In yet another example, an enterprise server 120, communicativelyconnected to packet switching network 116, provides a gateway forfacilitating multiple simultaneous VoIP calls to multiple telephonydevices, such as telephony devices 112 and 124. In one example,telephony devices 122 and 124 are VoIP equipped stand-alone telephonydevices and enterprise server 120 provides a gateway to systemsconnected within the enterprise network system to packet switchingnetwork 116. In another example, telephony devices 122 and 124 arestandard telephony devices and enterprise server 120 provides thegateway to packet switching network 116, runs a VoIP application tofacilitate VoIP calls, and converts between analog and digital signals.

In one example, a VoIP service provider may provide the VoIPapplications or firmware for download from VoIP server 110 to computersystems, such as computer system 102 or enterprise server 120, or toadapters, such as VoIP adapter 104. In another example, the VoIPapplication may be implemented through a web browser interfacing withVoIP server 110. Further, in yet another example, a stand-alone VoIPequipped system performs the functions described with reference to aVoIP application.

Support for a VoIP call may also include additional VoIP services. VoIPservices may include, but are not limited to, caller identification,call waiting, call transfer, repeat dial, return call, and three-waycalling. In addition, a VoIP service associated with VoIP calls mayinclude a voice mail service. VoIP services, including voice mailservice, may be provided by a VoIP specific service provider or by atelephony service provider, for example.

A VoIP application running at a computer or telephony system, VoIPserver 110, or other service systems may provide and manage the VoIPservices for a particular user. A VoIP voice mail system may residelocally, such as VoIP voice mail (VM) system 130 at computer system 102or VoIP voice mail (VM) system 134 at VoIP adapter 104. In addition, aVoIP voice mail system may reside remotely with shared remote storage,through a subscription or private network, such as VoIP voice mail (VM)server 132 accessible through VoIP server 110 or VoIP voice mail (VM)server 136 accessible through enterprise server 120.

Each VoIP voice mail system may include standard voice mailboxes forstoring telephony based communications in a data storage system ormemory. In addition, each VoIP voice mail system may include standardoptions for a user to play, store, delete, copy, or redistribute voicemail messages.

To aid the user in more efficient playback of stored VoIP voice mailmessages, as will be further described, a VoIP voice mail system filtersVoIP voice mail messages to aid the user in deleting potentiallyunwanted and unsolicited VoIP voice mail messages (herein referred to asunwanted voice mail) without the user having to listen to these types ofmessages. As will be further described, in filtering out voice mailmessages according to content, a VoIP voice mail system may detect aBayesian score for each voice mail message, prioritize playback of voicemail messages according to Bayesian score, and provide the user theoption to delete all voice mail messages with a Bayesian score greaterthan a particular score, such as the score of the currently playedmessage. In addition, as will be further described, in filtering outvoice mail messages according to caller identity, a VoIP voice mailsystem may filter out or reorder those voice mail messages with voicecharacteristics that do not match a voice imprint of a permitted caller.By filtering voice mail messages both by content and caller identity, aVoIP voice mail system reduce the number of unwanted voice mail messagesthat are stored in a voice mailbox or listened to by the user.

It is important to note that additional or alternative types of VoIPenabled systems with VoIP voice mail systems may communicate withindistributed communication network 100 and that systems are depicted forpurposes of illustration. For example, a stand-alone VoIP enabledtelephony device may directly connect to packet switching network orconnect via a wireless service provider and include a VoIP voice mailsystem or portions thereof, resident in the stand-alone VoIP enabledtelephony device.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a block diagram depicts one embodiment of acomputing system through which the telephony device, computer system,server, or network systems of the present method, system and programproduct may be implemented. The present invention may be executed in avariety of systems, including a variety of computing systems andelectronic devices.

Computer system 200 includes a bus 222 or other communication device forcommunicating information within computer system 200, and at least oneprocessing device such as processor 212, coupled to bus 222 forprocessing information. Bus 222 preferably includes low-latency andhigher latency paths that are connected by bridges and adapters andcontrolled within computer system 200 by multiple bus controllers. Whenimplemented as an email server, computer system 200 may include multipleprocessors designed to improve network servicing power.

Processor 212 may be a general-purpose processor such as IBM's PowerPC™processor that, during normal operation, processes data under thecontrol of an operating system 260, application software 270, middleware(not depicted), and other code accessible from a dynamic storage devicesuch as random access memory (RAM) 214, a static storage device such asRead Only Memory (ROM) 216, a data storage device, such as mass storagedevice 218, or other data storage medium. Operating system 260 mayprovide a graphical user interface (GUI) to the user. In one embodiment,application software 270 may contain machine executable instructions forcontrolling voice communications and VoIP voice mail systems that whenexecuted on processor 212 carry out the operations depicted in theflowcharts of FIGS. 6, 7, and 8 and other operations described herein.Alternatively, the steps of the present invention might be performed byspecific hardware components that contain hardwired logic for performingthe steps, or by any combination of programmed computer components andcustom hardware components.

The VoIP communication and VoIP voice mail system of the presentinvention may be provided as a computer program product, included on amachine-readable medium having stored thereon the machine executableinstructions used to program computer system 200 to perform a processaccording to the present invention. The term “machine-readable medium”as used herein includes any medium that participates in providinginstructions to processor 212 or other components of computer system 200for execution. Such a medium may take many forms including, but notlimited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media.Common forms of non-volatile media include, for example, a floppy disk,a flexible disk, a hard disk, magnetic tape or any other magneticmedium, a compact disc ROM (CD-ROM) or any other optical medium, punchcards or any other physical medium with patterns of holes, aprogrammable ROM (PROM), an erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically EPROM(EEPROM), a flash memory, any other memory chip or cartridge, or anyother medium from which computer system 400 can read and which issuitable for storing instructions. In the present embodiment, an exampleof a non-volatile medium is mass storage device 218 which as depicted isan internal component of computer system 200, but will be understood toalso be provided by an external device. Volatile media include dynamicmemory such as RAM 214. Transmission media include coaxial cables,copper wire or fiber optics, including the wires that comprise bus 222.Transmission media can also take the form of acoustic or light waves,such as those generated during radio frequency or infrared datacommunications.

Moreover, the present invention may be downloaded as a computer programproduct, wherein the program instructions may be transferred from aremote computer such as a server 240 to requesting computer system 200by way of data signals embodied in a carrier wave or other propagationmedium via a network link 234 (e.g. a modem or network connection) to acommunications interface 232 coupled to bus 222. Communicationsinterface 232 provides a two-way data communications coupling to networklink 234 that may be connected, for example, to a local area network(LAN), wide area network (WAN), or directly to an Internet ServiceProvider (ISP). In particular, network link 234 may provide wired and/orwireless network communications to one or more networks, such as network140.

Network link 234 and network 140 both use electrical, electromagnetic,or optical signals that carry digital data streams. The signals throughthe various networks and the signals on network link 234 and throughcommunication interface 232, which carry the digital data to and fromcomputer system 200, are forms of carrier waves transporting theinformation.

When implemented as a VoIP enabled system, computer system 200 maycommunicate in a VoIP call with a standard telephone device, asdescribed with reference to FIG. 1, or with another VoIP enabled system,such as VoIP enabled telephony system 246.

When implemented as a network server, computer system 200 may includemultiple communication interfaces accessible via multiple peripheralcomponent interconnect (PCI) bus bridges connected to an input/outputcontroller. In this manner, computer system 200 allows connections tomultiple network computers via multiple separate ports.

In addition, computer system 200 typically includes multiple peripheralcomponents that facilitate communication. These peripheral componentsare connected to multiple controllers, adapters, and expansion slots,such as input/output (I/O) interface 226, coupled to one of the multiplelevels of bus 222. For example, input device 224 may include, forexample, a microphone, a keyboard, a mouse, or other input peripheraldevice, communicatively enabled on bus 222 via I/O interface 226controlling inputs. In addition, for example, a output device 220communicatively enabled on bus 222 via I/O interface 226 for controllingoutputs may include, for example, one or more graphical display devices,but may also include other output interfaces, such as an audio outputinterface. In alternate embodiments of the present invention, additionalinput and output peripheral components may be added.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the hardwaredepicted in FIG. 2 may vary. Furthermore, those of ordinary skill in theart will appreciate that the depicted example is not meant to implyarchitectural limitations with respect to the present invention.

With reference now to FIG. 3, a block diagram illustrates a voice mailsystem for filtering out unwanted voice mail. As illustrated, a VoIPvoice mail system 300 includes multiple components and data systems,however, it will be understood that voice mail system 300 may includeadditional or alternate components and data systems. In addition, itwill be understood that the components of voice mail system 300 may bedistributed across one or more computer systems and that voice mailsystem 300 may be shared by multiple users.

First, voice mail system 300 includes a voice mail entry database 302.As voice mail messages are recorded, a new entry for each voice mailmessage is created in database 302. The time of arrival, calleridentification for the sending telephony system and other informationmay be included with the new entry for each voice mail message indatabase 302, which may also be termed a voice mailbox. Further,additional information about each voice mail message may be added to theentry in database 302 at the time of arrival, during playback, or at anyother time period. It will be understood that once voice mail system 300answers a call, voice mail system 300 may trigger an interactive voiceresponse unit or other prompting system to prompt the caller to leave amessage that is recorded and stored in voice mail entry database 302. Inaddition, it will be understood that where voice mail system 300 isshared between multiple users, voice mail entry database 302 may includemultiple physical or logical units, with a separate unit for storage ofvoice mail messages separately left for each user, as will beillustrated with respect to FIG. 5.

A playback controller 304 controls playback of voice mail messageentries within database 302. Playback controller 304 also facilitates auser selection interface from which a user may select options forplayback of messages stored within voice mail entry database 302.

A filtering controller 306 filters the voice mail entries within voicemail system 300. In one example, filtering controller 306 may filtervoice mail entries at different times, including, but not limited to,prior to storage in database 302, while voice mail messages are waitingin database 302 prior to playback, or during playback of voice mailmessages by playback controller 304. In one embodiment, filteringcontroller 306 filters voice email entries both by identity of senderand content. In other embodiments, filtering controller 306 may filtervoice email entries only by identity of sender or content. It will beunderstood that in addition to identity of sender and content, filteringcontroller 306 may filter voice mail entries according to otherfiltering parameters.

In one example of content-based filtering, filtering controller 306filters voice mail entries according to Bayesian score. In particular, aBayesian scoring controller 312 analyzes and calculates a Bayesian scorefor each voice mail entry. In calculating a Bayesian score, Bayesianscoring controller 312 calculates the probability that a voice mailmessage is unwanted voice mail. In general, a Bayesian score iscalculated based on the assumption that particular words have particularprobabilities of occurring either in unwanted mail or wanted mail. Forexample, a user encountering a voice mail message with the names ofparticular products not preferred by the user would mark the voice mailmessage as unwanted voice mail, but will seldom mark the voice mailmessage as wanted, and therefore the names of the particular productswould have a high probability of occurring in unwanted voice mail.

In one equation used by Bayesian scoring controller 312, the probabilitythat a voice mail message is unwanted voice mail is equal to theprobability of finding those certain words in unwanted voice mail, timesthe probability that any voice mail is unwanted, divided by theprobability of finding those certain words in any email. Therefore, tocalculate the probability that a voice mail message is unwanted voicemail, Bayesian scoring controller 312 scans a voice mail entry for thecertain words that match with words in a corpus listing 308. In theexample, corpus listing 308 includes multiple words and for each wordlists the probability that the word will be in any voice mail messageand the probability that a voice mail message with the word is eitherunwanted mail or wanted mail. In addition, corpus listing 308 includes aprobability that any voice mail is unwanted for the particular user.Data included in corpus listing 308 may be accessed from a serviceprovider or filtering service, manually entered by a user, or built by acorpus controller 310.

In calculating a Bayesian score, Bayesian scoring controller 312 mayfirst convert the voice mail from voice into text or through other voicerecognition method detect the words of the voice mail. Using voicerecognition or a voice to text converted will be understood by one withskill in the art. In one example, ViaVoice (ViaVoice is a trademark ofInternational Business Machines Corporation) is a software product thatperform voice recognition.

In the example of content-based filtering, corpus controller 310 buildscorpus listing 308 and updates the probabilities for words to be locatedwithin unwanted voice mail and for any voice mail to be unwanted withincorpus listing 308 from multiple sources. In one example, corpuscontroller 310 builds corpus listing 308 with words and probabilitiesassociated with each word by monitoring all or portions of actualconversations and detecting the keywords within the monitored portionsof the actual conversations. In another example, corpus controller 310builds corpus listing 308 with words and probabilities by detectingkeywords within voice mail messages listened to and saved by the userwithin voice mail entry database 302. Further, corpus controller 310builds corpus listing 308 with words with a probability as unwantedvoice mail by detecting words within those voice mail messages that auser deletes during playback before the end of the message or that auser deletes and marks as unwanted voice mail.

In one example of identity-based filtering, filtering controller 306filters voice mail message entries according to caller identity. In theexample, a white list 314 includes voice imprints, where each voiceimprint is marked as permitted or excluded. For each voice mail message,a voice identification controller 322 detects the voice characteristicsfor a speaker leaving a voice mail message. In detecting thecharacteristics, voice identification controller 322 may detectcharacteristics such as pace, tone, inflection and other voice signatureidentifiers. Voice identification controller 322 compares the voicecharacteristics with the voice imprints in white list 314. If voiceidentification controller 322 detects a match between the voicecharacteristics in the voice mail message and a permitted voice imprintwithin white list 314, then filtering controller 306 maintains the voicemail message and allows playback. If voice identification controller 322detects a match between the voice characteristics in the voice mailmessage and an excluded voice imprint within white list 314, thenfiltering controller 306 may automatically delete the voice mail messageor may automatically mark the voice mail message as unwanted voice mail.Voice identification controller 322 does not detect a match thenfiltering controller 306 may tag the voice mail message and prompt therecipient to indicate whether to add a voice imprint for the sender towhite list 314, and whether to add the voice imprint as permitted orexcluded.

In matching voice characteristics to a voice imprint, voiceidentification controller 322 may perform biometric analysis or voiceauthentication for the actual analysis. Using biometric voiceidentification or voice authentication will be understood by one withskill in the art.

A white list controller 316 builds the voice imprints within white list314. In one example, white list controller 306 monitors actualconversations and detects the voice imprints from those conversations.White list controller 316 may prompt the user to specify, when the useris participating in a conversation, whether a voice imprint for theparticipant should be added to white list 314 and whether to mark thevoice imprint as permitted. In another example, white list controller306 monitors playback of voice mail messages. If a user saves a voicemail message, white list controller 306 detects and stores a voiceimprint from the saved voice mail message and marks the voice imprint aspermitted. If a user deletes a voice mail message before playback ends,white list controller 306 detects and stores a voice imprint from thesaved voice mail message and marks the voice imprint as excluded.

Filtering preferences 320 may include multiple types of preferences forthe performance of filtering controller 306. In one example, a filteringpreference may indicate whether the user prefers for filteringcontroller 306 to filter messages upon receipt into voice mail entrydatabase 302, at a particular time, or during playback by voice mailplayback controller 304. In another example, a filtering preference mayindicate whether the user prefers for filtering controller 306 toprovide prompts for user approval of new entries within corpus 308 andwhite list 314 or whether filtering controller 306 is to automaticallyadd new entries to corpus 308 and white list 314. In yet anotherexample, a filtering preference may indicate whether the user prefersfor filtering controller 306 to filter messages by white list, byBayesian score or by both. Further, a filtering preference may indicatea highest threshold Bayesian score, where those messages with a Bayesianscore greater than the threshold should be automatically deleted.Additionally, a filtering preference may indicate a user's preferencefor how filtering related information should be output and whichselectable options should be output for user selection.

An interface controller 318 controls output of filtering relatedinformation and selectable options according to the information andoptions available and further according to selections within filteringpreferences 320. In one example, interface controller 308 controlsoutput, during playback of voice mail messages, of the Bayesian scorecalculated for each voice mail message. In another example, interfacecontroller 308 controls output, during playback of voice mail messages,of an option to mark a message as unwanted voice mail and an option todelete all voice mail messages with a Bayesian score equal to or greaterthan the Bayesian score of a message marked as unwanted voice mail or alast played message. It will be understood that interface controller 308may control output of additional or other types of information andselectable options.

Referring now to FIG. 4, an illustrative diagram shows one example offiltering out unwanted voice mail before and during playback. In theexample, voice mail entry database 400 includes multiple entriesnumbered according to time of arrival and indicated by senderidentifier. Each entry depicts a name of the sender illustrated atreference numeral 402, a date and time of arrival illustrated atreference numeral 404, and a Bayesian score illustrated at referencenumeral 406.

Prior to playback of the messages within voice mail entry database 400,as illustrated at reference numeral 402, filtering controller 306triggers voice identification controller 322 to search for a white listvoice imprint matching a sample of the voice characteristics from eachvoice mail message. In the example, as illustrated, white list matchcolumn 404 indicates the results of voice identification controller 322searching for white list matches. In the example, voice identificationcontroller 322 identifies the voice mail messages from senders “JohnSmith” and “Tammy West” as matching permitted voice imprints, the voicemail message received 4^(th) with no caller identifier (ID) as matchingan excluded voice imprint, and the remaining voice mail messages as notmatching a voice imprint within the white list. Based on the matchingperformed by voice identification controller 322, filtering controller306 automatically updates corpus listing 308 with words indicatingunwanted voice mail from entry “4” and deletes entry “4” with voicecharacteristics matching an excluded voice imprint. In another example,filtering controller 306 may prompt the user to select to delete theentry with voice characteristics matching an excluded voice imprint ormay prioritize the entry at the end of the play list, rather thanautomatically deleting the entry.

Next, filtering controller 306 triggers Bayesian scoring controller 312to calculate a Bayesian score for each voice mail message, as indicatedat reference numeral 406. In an alternate example, Bayesian scoringcontroller 312 may only calculate a Bayesian score for those voice mailmessages that with voice characteristics that do not match a voiceimprint or for other groupings of voice mail messages. In the example,as illustrated, Bayesian score column 408 indicates the results ofBayesian scoring controller 312 calculating a Bayesian score for eachvoice mail message entry. In the example, the Bayesian score representsthe probability that a voice mail message is unwanted voice mail.

Based on the Bayesian scoring performed by Bayesian scoring controller312, filtering controller 306 may automatically delete those voice mailmessages with a Bayesian score greater than a particular threshold, suchas 80%, illustrated as 0.8. In the example, filtering controller 306would automatically delete entry “6” with a Bayesian score of 0.9. Inanother example, filtering controller 306 may prompt the user with alisting of those entries with a Bayesian score greater than thethreshold and request user selection of particular entries or allentries to be deleted. Where voice mail messages are deleted based on aBayesian score greater than the threshold, voice samples from each voicemail message are added as excluded voice imprints to white list 314 andwords from each voice mail message are added to corpus listing 308 asindicative of unwanted voice mail.

Next, filtering controller triggers filtering of the remaining voicemail messages to order the voice mail messages according to Bayesianscore and then according to other criteria, as illustrated at referencenumeral 410. In the example, playback order column 412 indicates theordering of entries for playback. In particular, entries “2”, “3”, “5”,“7”, “8” and “1” are ordered according to Bayesian score, from lowest tohighest score. In addition, place holders indicating the automaticallydeleted entries “6” and “4” are included with entries deleted accordingto Bayesian score threshold listed prior to entries deleted according toexcluded voice imprint. In other examples, other criteria may be used inordering the voice mail message entries and place holders.

Playback controller 304 begins playback of the voice mail messageentries as ordered, as illustrated at reference numeral 414. Duringplayback, a user action column 416 indicates the user action orselection for each voice mail message and a filtering response column418 indicates the response of filtering controller 306 to the useraction. In the example, for entry “2” the user selects to save the voicemail message. In response to the user selection, filtering controller418 triggers corpus controller 310 to update corpus listing 308 withkeywords from the wanted voice mail message. Since the sender is alreadyidentified by a voice imprint in white list 314, a new entry need to beadded, however, a user may select a preference to update white listentries periodically or with multiple samples from a single sender.Next, in the example, for entry “3” the user selects to delete the voicemail message. In response, filtering controller 418 triggers interfacecontroller 318 to prompt the user to select whether to mark the voicemail message as unwanted for the update to corpus listing 308 and whitelist 314. Thereafter, in the example, for entry “5” the user selects tosave the voice mail message. In response, filtering controller 418triggers corpus controller 310 to update corpus listing 308 withkeywords from the wanted voice mail and triggers white list controller316 to add a voice imprint from a sample of the voice mail message towhite list 314 and mark the voice imprint as permitted.

Next, in the example, for entry “7” the user selects a “Bayesian delete”which requests that all voice mail message entries with a Bayesian scoregreater than the previous voice mail message be deleted. In response,filtering controller automatically deletes entries “7”, “8”, and “1” andupdates corpus listing 308 and white list 314 for each voice mailmessage as unwanted voice mail and excluded senders.

With reference now to FIG. 5, an illustrative diagram shows one exampleof the types of data stored for use by a voice mail system shared withinan enterprise. In the example, enterprise voice mail data 500 may residewithin one or more data storage systems, such as enterprise voice mailserver 136 within an enterprise network system or distributed acrosstelephony devices accessible within the enterprise network system, suchas telephony devices 122 and 124. It will be understood that enterprisevoice mail data 500 may also reside in other data storage systems withinand outside an enterprise network system.

In the example, a voice mail entry database 502 includes a separatevoice mailbox for each employee. In particular, in the example, theemployees A, B and C are representative of different employees, eachwith a separate voice mailbox in which voice mail messages intended forthat employee are stored.

In addition, in the example, a corpus listing 504 includes separatelistings for an enterprise and then for each employee. When Bayesianscoring controller 312 calculates a Bayesian score for a voice mailmessage, Bayesian scoring controller 312 may access both the enterprisecorpus listing and the corpus listing for a particular employee. Inaddition, when corpus controller 310 updates corpus listing 504, corpuscontroller 504 may detect common words within the employee corpuslisting and add the common words to the enterprise corpus listing.Further, an enterprise system may subscribe to a service that monitorsvoice mail traffic, calculates corpus words with Bayesian percentages,and updates the enterprise corpus listing periodically.

A white list 506 includes an employee directory with voice imprints foreach employee and an enterprise list with enterprise-wide permitted andexcluded callers. In addition, each employee may select to store voiceimprints for permitted and excluded callers. When voice identificationcontroller 322 searches for a voice imprint matching sampled voicecharacteristics from a voice mail message, voice identificationcontroller 322 may search both the enterprise white list and an employeewhite list for a matching voice imprint. In addition, when white listcontroller 316 updates white list 506, white list controller 316 maydetect common voice imprints among employee lists and add the commonvoice imprints to the enterprise list. Further, white list controller316 may monitor calls for each employee and update the voice imprints inthe enterprise and employee lists with sampled conversations.

In one example, within an enterprise system, white list controller 316may seed the employee directory white list with employee voice imprintsby sampling the voice mailbox greeting recorded by each employee. Inanother example, within an enterprise system, white list controller 316may seed the employee directory white list by placing a call to theemployee and prompting the employee to speak particular words or soundsfor storage as a voice imprint.

In another example, within an enterprise system, by tracking patternsamong employee corpus lists and white lists and updating the enterprisecorpus list and white list with common words and voice imprints, anenterprise system can actively monitor for and delete unwanted voicemail from employee voice mailboxes to avoid overloading the data storagesystem available for storage of voice mail message with unwanted voicemail. In particular, an enterprise system may temporarily acquireadditional storage space, such as on-demand storage, that is paid for byuse. Where an enterprise system adapts to additional storage needs bypaying for additional storage space, an enterprise system may need tolimit the number of unwanted voice mail messages stored in the on-demandstorage space to reduce costs.

In yet another example, within an enterprise system, by includingemployee voice imprints within white list 506, the voice mail system mayuse voice authentication to log an employee in to access voice mailmessages for that employee. Thus, the voice imprints could be used bothfor authenticating an employee to log into the voice mail system and toauthenticate that a voice mail sent by the employee is not spoofed, butis from the employee designated in the caller identification detectedfrom the Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) call identification orLightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) call identification.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a high level logic flowchart depicts a processand program for controlling updates to a white listing. As illustrated,the process starts at block 600 and thereafter proceeds to block 602.Block 602 depicts a determination whether a new call is started. If anew call is started, then the process passes to block 604. At block 604,the filtering controller determines whether or not the user placed thecall. If the user receives the call, then the process passes to block606. Block 606 depicts sampling the conversation with the callrecipient. Next, block 608 depicts prompting the user to select to addthe sample as a permitted voice imprint entry in the white list.Thereafter, block 610 depicts a determination whether the user selectsto add the sample as a permitted voice imprint. If the user selects toadd the sample, then the process passes to block 612. Block 612 depictsadding the sample as a permitted voice imprint entry in the white list,and the process ends. Returning to block 610, if the user does notselect to add the sample as a permitted voice imprint, then the processpasses to block 620. Block 620 depicts a determination whether the userselects to add the sample as an excluded voice imprint. If the userselects to add the sample as an excluded voice imprint, then the processpasses to block 622. Block 622 depicts adding the sample as an excludedvoice imprint entry in the white list, and the process ends. It isimportant to note that the prompting of the user may occur during thecall or following the conclusion of the call.

Returning to block 604, if the user places the call, then the processpasses to block 614. Block 614 depicts sampling voice characteristicsfrom the call. In another embodiment, a user may select a preferencethat when the user places a call, voice characteristics are only sampledat block 614 if the call is not placed to a number within the user'scontact database. Next, block 616 depicts comparing the voicecharacteristics from the call with the voice imprints in the white list.Thereafter, block 618 depicts a determination whether there is a matchbetween the sampled voice characteristics and a voice imprint in thewhite list. If there is a match, then the process ends. Alternatively,if there is a match, the user may be prompted to select whether toreplace a previous voice imprint with the new sample or whether to addan additional sample for the sender. Returning to block 618, if there isnot a match, then the process passes to block 608 and proceeds aspreviously described.

With reference now to FIG. 7, a high level logic flowchart depicts ahigh level process and program for controlling filtering of voice mailmessages. As illustrated, the process starts at block 700 and thereafterproceeds to block 702. Block 702 depicts a determination whether voicemail filtering is triggered. In one example the occurrence of an eventspecified in the filtering preferences, such as receipt of a new voicemail message or a user request to playback voice mail message entries,triggers voice mail filtering. If voice mail filtering is triggered,then the process passes to block 704.

Block 704 illustrates comparing voice characteristics of a sample of thenext voice mail message with voice imprints in the white list. Next,block 706 depicts a determination whether there is a match between thevoice characteristics and a voice imprint in the white list and thevoice imprint is marked as permitted. If the filtering controllerdetects a match with a permitted voice imprint, then the process passesto block 714. Otherwise, at block 706, if the filtering controller doesnot detect a match with a permitted voice sample, then the processpasses to block 708.

Block 708 depicts a determination by the filtering controller whetherthere is a match between the voice characteristics of a sample of thenext voice mail message and a voice imprint in the white list and thevoice imprint is marked as excluded. If the filtering controller detectsa match with an excluded voice imprint, then the process passes to block710. Block 710 depicts updating the corpus with the keywords from thevoice mail message. In particular, the corpus is updated with keywordsfrom a voice mail message that is considered an unwanted voice mail.Next, block 712 illustrates deleting the voice mail message from thevoice mailbox, and the process passes to block 726.

Block 726 depicts a determination by the filtering controller whetherthere are still unfiltered voice mail messages remaining in the voicemailbox. If there are remaining unfiltered voice mail messages in thevoice mailbox, then the process passes to block 704. If there are noremaining unfiltered voice mail messages in the voice mailbox, then theprocess ends.

Returning to block 708, if there is a match with an excluded voiceimprint, then the process passes to block 714. Block 714 depictscalculating a Bayesian score for the voice mail message. Next, block 718illustrates a determination by the filtering controller whether theBayesian score is greater than a particular threshold. If the Bayesianscore is less than a required score threshold, then the process passesto block 726. Otherwise, at block 718, if the Bayesian score is greaterthan a required score threshold, then the process passes to block 720.Block 720 depicts updating the bad corpus with keywords from the voicemail message. Next, block 722 illustrates updating the excluded whitelist with a voice imprint sampled from the voice mail message.Thereafter, block 724 depicts deleting the voice mail message from thevoice mailbox, and the process passes to block 726.

It will be understood that in filtering voice mail messages within thevoice mailbox, the filtering controller may perform additional steps oralternative steps to those depicted in FIG. 7. In particular, filteringpreferences may indicate preferences for filtering voice mail messageswith a voice characteristic that matches an excluded white list entry.For example, the filtering preference may indicate that the voice mailmessage should be marked as unwanted voice mail and prioritized at theend of the playback list. In addition, in particular, filteringpreferences may indicate preferences for filtering voice mail with aBayesian score greater than a score threshold. For example, thefiltering preference may indicate that voice mail with a Bayesian scoregreater than a particular threshold should be moved into a differentstorage space and marked as unwanted voice mail.

Referring now to FIG. 8, a high level logic flowchart depicts a processand program for controlling filtered playback of voice mail messages. Asillustrated, the process starts at block 800 and thereafter proceeds toblock 802. Block 802 depicts the filtering controller detecting whetherplayback of voice mail by the voice mail playback controller istriggered. When playback of voice mail is triggered, then the processpasses to block 830.

Block 830 depicts a determination by the filtering controller whetherall the voice mail messages waiting for playback are already filtered.If all voice mail messages are already filtered, then the process passesto block 804. If not all voice mail message are already filtered, thenthe process passes to block 832. Block 832 illustrates triggering thevoice mail filtering illustrated at FIG. 7. Next, block 834 depicts adetermination whether the voice mail filtering is complete. Once thevoice mail filtering is complete, then the process passes to block 804.

Block 804 illustrates sorting the voice mail messages according to userplayback filtering preferences. For example, a user playback filteringpreferences may specify filtering from lowest Bayesian score to highestBayesian score, so that the voice mail messages with the highestprobability of being unwanted voice mail are played back last. Next,block 806 depicts triggering the voice mail playback controller to beginplaying the voice mail messages in the sorted order. Thereafter, block808 depicts controlling output of filtering information and selectableoptions according to user filtering preferences in association with thecurrent voice mail message being played, and the process passes to block810.

Block 810 illustrates a determination whether the user selects to savethe voice mail message. If the user selects to save the voice mailmessage, then the process passes to block 812. Block 812 depictsupdating the good corpus with keywords from the saved email. Next, block814 illustrates updating the white list with a voice imprint sampledfrom the saved email, where the voice imprint is marked as permitted,and the process passes to block 828. Block 828 depicts a determinationwhether there are voice mail messages remaining in the mailbox that havenot yet been played. If there are no unplayed voice mail messagesremaining in the mailbox, then the process ends. If there are unplayedvoice mail messages remaining in the mailbox, then the process passes toblock 808.

Returning to block 810, if the user does not select to save the voicemail message, then the process passes to block 816. Block 816 depicts adetermination whether the user selects to mark a voice mail message asunwanted voice mail. If the user selects to mark the voice mail messageas unwanted, then the process passes to block 818. Block 818 illustratesupdating the corpus with keywords from the selected voice mail message.Next, block 820 depicts updating the white list with a voice imprintsampled from the voice mail message, where the voice imprint is markedas excluded. Thereafter, block 822 illustrates deleting the voice mailmessage from the voice mailbox, and the process passes to block 828.Otherwise, returning to block 816, if the user does not select to mark avoice mail message as unwanted voice mail, then the process passes toblock 824.

Block 824 illustrates a determination whether the user selects to deleteall voice mail messages with a Bayesian score greater than the lastplayed message. If the user selects to delete all voice mail messageswith a Bayesian score greater than the last played message, then theprocess passes to block 825. Block 825 depicts selecting the voice mailmessages with Bayesian scores greater than the last played message, andthe process passes to block 818. It is important to note that inaddition to the option to select to delete all voice mail messages witha Bayesian score greater than the last played message, a user may selectfrom among other options, such as deleting all voice mail messages witha Bayesian score greater than the currently playing message, deletingall voice mail messages with a particular word spoken by the user whilelistening to or after listening to a particular voice mail message, orother options that allow a user to select to delete voice mail messagesaccording to a particular criteria.

Returning to block 824, if the user does not select to delete all voicemail messages with a Bayesian score greater than the last playedmessage, then the process passes to block 826. Block 826 depicts adetermination whether the user selects to delete a voice mail messageprior to the end of playback of the voice mail message. If the userselects to delete the voice mail message prior to the end of playback,then according to a filtering preference setting, the process passes toblock 818. Otherwise, at block 826, if the user does not select todelete the voice mail message prior to the end of playback, then theprocess passes to block 828. It is important to note that a user mayselect additional or alternative filtering preferences in association avoice mail message deleted before the end of playback. For example, afiltering preference may specify that when the user selects to delete avoice mail message prior to the end of playback of the voice mailmessage, the filtering controller prompt the user to designate whetherthe voice mail message was unwanted.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described withreference to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

1. A method for managing entries within a voice mailbox for at least oneuser, comprising: calculating a separate Bayesian score for each voicemail message from among a plurality of voice mail message entriesreceived into said voice mailbox for said user, wherein each saidseparate Bayesian score indicates a probability that each said separatevoice mail message is unwanted by said user; and responsive to a userselection during playback to delete entries, automatically deleting aselection of said plurality of voice mail message entries from saidvoice mailbox each with said separate Bayesian score greater than aparticular Bayesian score of the last played voice mail message fromsaid voice mailbox.
 2. The method according to claim 1, furthercomprising: sorting said plurality of voice mail messages entries in anorder from lowest Bayesian score to highest Bayesian score; and playingsaid selection of said plurality of voice mail messages entries in saidorder to said user.
 3. The method according to claim 1, furthercomprising: responsive to calculating said separate Bayesian score foreach said voice mail message, automatically deleting a second selectionfrom among said plurality of voice mail messages entries each with saidseparate Bayesian score greater than a particular score threshold. 4.The method according to claim 1, wherein calculating a separate Bayesianscore further comprises: calculating each said separate Bayesian scorefrom matching words in each said voice mail message to a separateselection of words from a plurality of words within a corpus, whereineach of said plurality of words within said corpus comprises aprobability of occurring in a voice mail and a probability of occurringin a voice mail that is unwanted.
 5. The method according to claim 4,further comprising: adding said plurality of words to said corpus fromat least one from among a first selection of words detected within atleast one voice mail saved by said user during playback, a secondselection of words detected during at least one conversation betweensaid user and at least other participant, and a third selection of wordsdetected within at least one voice mail deleted by said user and markedas unwanted voice mail.
 6. The method according to claim 1, furthercomprising: detecting whether a separate voice characteristic for eachsaid voice mail message from among said plurality of voice mail messageentries matches at least one voice imprint from among a plurality ofvoice imprints, wherein each of said plurality of voice imprints ismarked as one from among permitted or excluded; and automaticallydeleting a second selection of said plurality of voice mail messageentries from said voice mailbox each with said separate voicecharacteristic matching one from among said plurality of voice imprintsmarked as excluded.
 7. The method according to claim 6, furthercomprising: sampling at least a portion of a conversation between saiduser and at least one other call participant; and adding said samplingto said plurality of voice imprints marked as excluded.
 8. The methodaccording to claim 6, further comprising: sampling at least a portion ofa voice mailbox greeting; and adding said sampling to said plurality ofvoice imprints marked as permitted.
 9. The method according to claim 6,further comprising: responsive to detecting a selection by said user todelete a particular voice mail message from among said plurality ofvoice mail message entries because said particular voice mail message isunwanted by said particular user, adding a sampling of said voice mailmessage to said plurality of voice imprints marked as excluded.
 10. Asystem for managing entries within a voice mailbox for at least oneuser, comprising: a voice mailbox for storing a plurality of voice mailmessage entries for said user; said voice mailbox further comprising:means for calculating a separate Bayesian score for each voice mailmessage from among said plurality of voice mail message entries storedin said voice mailbox, wherein each said separate Bayesian scoreindicates a probability that each said separate voice mail message isunwanted by said user; and means, responsive to a user selection duringplayback to delete entries, for automatically deleting a selection ofsaid plurality of voice mail message entries from said voice mailboxeach with said separate Bayesian score greater than a particularBayesian score of the last played voice mail message from said voicemailbox.
 11. The system according to claim 10, said voice mailboxfurther comprising: means for sorting said plurality of voice mailmessages entries in an order from lowest Bayesian score to highestBayesian score; and means for playing said selection of said pluralityof voice mail messages entries in said order to said user.
 12. Thesystem according to claim 10, said voice mailbox further comprising:means, responsive to calculating said separate Bayesian score for eachsaid voice mail message, for automatically deleting a second selectionfrom among said plurality of voice mail messages entries each with saidseparate Bayesian score greater than a particular score threshold. 13.The system according to claim 10, wherein said means for calculating aseparate Bayesian score further comprises: means for calculating eachsaid separate Bayesian score from matching words in each said voice mailmessage to a separate selection of words from a plurality of wordswithin a corpus, wherein each of said plurality of words within saidcorpus comprises a probability of occurring in a voice mail and aprobability of occurring in a voice mail that is unwanted.
 14. Thesystem according to claim 13, said voice mailbox further comprising:means for adding said plurality of words to said corpus from at leastone from among a first selection of words detected within at least onevoice mail saved by said user during playback, a second selection ofwords detected during at least one conversation between said user and atleast other participant, and a third selection of words detected withinat least one voice mail deleted by said user and marked as unwantedvoice mail.
 15. The system according to claim 10, said voice mailboxfurther comprising: means for detecting whether a separate voicecharacteristic for each said voice mail message from among saidplurality of voice mail message entries matches at least one voiceimprint from among a plurality of voice imprints, wherein each of saidplurality of voice imprints is marked as one from among permitted orexcluded; and means for automatically deleting a second selection ofsaid plurality of voice mail message entries from said voice mailboxeach with said separate voice characteristic matching one from amongsaid plurality of voice imprints marked as excluded.
 16. The systemaccording to claim 15, said voice mailbox further comprising: means forsampling at least a portion of a conversation between said user and atleast one other call participant; and means for adding said sampling tosaid plurality of voice imprints marked as excluded.
 17. The systemaccording to claim 15, said voice mailbox further comprising: means forsampling at least a portion of a voice mailbox greeting; and means foradding said sampling to said plurality of voice imprints marked aspermitted.
 18. The system according to claim 15, said voice mailboxfurther comprising: means, responsive to detecting a selection by saiduser to delete a particular voice mail message from among said pluralityof voice mail message entries because said particular voice mail messageis unwanted by said particular user, for adding a sampling of said voicemail message to said plurality of voice imprints marked as excluded. 19.The system according to claim 10, wherein at least a selection of saidplurality of voice mail message entries are transmitted through a packetswitching network using the voice over Internet Protocol.
 20. A programfor managing entries within a voice mailbox for at least one user, saidprogram embodied in a computer-readable medium, said program comprisingcomputer-executable instructions which cause a computer to perform thesteps of: controlling calculation of a separate Bayesian score for eachvoice mail message from among a plurality of voice mail message entriesreceived into said voice mailbox for said user, wherein each saidseparate Bayesian score indicates a probability that each said separatevoice mail message is unwanted by said user; and controlling automaticdeletion of a selection of said plurality of voice mail message entriesfrom said voice mailbox each with said separate Bayesian score greaterthan a particular Bayesian score of the last played voice mail messagefrom said voice mailbox.